


I've always wanted a sister

by ZoeIsAspiring



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Brotp, Friendship, Gen, Post-Canon, THIS IS A BRO SHIP, although technically its an au, iDK tho, not relationship, since leo is back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 04:30:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5991748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoeIsAspiring/pseuds/ZoeIsAspiring
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Percy opens up to Piper about Smelly Gabe in the middle of a makeup tutorial cut short.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I've always wanted a sister

"What the Hades are you doing in here?" Piper asked in shock. She stared at the two boys guiltily standing in front of her vanity and didn't know whether to laugh or get angry.

"Um, well..." Percy dropped her foundation brush. "Um... Leo? Why are we here?"

Leo grinned even though his cheeks were the same red as the lipstick in his hands. "We were curious about makeup and stuff and since Annie and Calypso don't wear it, we thought-"

"That you'd break into my cabin and make a huge mess??? Leo, what the Festus is on your face?"

"Don't use Festus's name in vain," Leo simpered.

Piper strode over and took his head in her hands to examine his work. "Did you put my lip liner around your eyes?"

"That's what the little red pencil was?" Percy asked. "I told him it was eyeliner."

“Boi, you think that I’d wear red eyeliner? I’m not  _ that _ pretty.” She ran her finger across his eyebrows and wrinkled her nose. “Did you put mascara in your eyebrows? It literally says eyelashes on the bottle, you big dumbie.”

“I’m dyslexic,” Leo said snarkily.

"So am I. I can still read and so can you. Urghhhhh! You wasted so much!" Piper frowned at Leo's mess. "You're so smudgy everywhere.” She licked her thumb and started rubbing his cheeks to remove some of the caked on powder.

"Ew!" Leo smacked her hand and jumped out of her reach. "You're acting like my abuela! I'm out!" He flashed a peace sign and ran out of the cabin.

Percy watched with a small smile on his face. "There's literally nowhere for him to go and not be completely embarrassed by the crap on his face."

"Serves him right," Piper grumbled. She picked up her lipstick and groaned. "He broke it! And this was the expensive stuff! I might actually cry." She traced a tear from the corner of her eye to her jaw.

"You didn't even cry when you broke your arm and half your ribs during capture the flag," Percy scoffed. "Besides, you're loaded. Just buy more."

"Yeah, well, I'd have to use up my one hour with my dad a week to ask and I don't want to waste it on makeup." Piper sat on her bed and stared pointedly in the opposite direction of the poster of her dad. "I don't mean to get all emotional on you, but.." She rolled her eyes at herself. "My dad's not exactly paying attention to me again. You'd think after saving his life he'd actually talk to me everyday for longer than a year, even if he doesn’t remember it. But it's whatever."

Percy's mouth fell open in surprise. "He's not?"

"He's busy. New movie filming and old movie premieres to attend." She smiled sadly. "He's doing really well in Hollywood. Cash coming in, family time going out."

"Pipes, you know my mom said you could visit anytime." Percy sat beside her and bumped his shoulder against hers. “We’re like your foster family or something. I’ve always wanted a sister.”

"I know you are; I'm coming over Sunday for family brunch." Piper laughed at the confused look on his face. "Oh yeah, your mom is making brunch on Sunday and you have to go."

"Way to tell me," Percy grumbled. "How was I supposed to know?"

"Sah-wrie," Piper cooed. "Hey do you want me to teach you how to makeup? Your face looks pretty clean."

"Yeah, I wanted to wait until you came so I didn't make myself look like a clown."

"Okay, let's do it." Piper grabbed a hand mirror and plopped into Lacy's desk chair. She wheeled over in front of the vanity and gestured for Percy to trade her seats. "I always put on foundation first. Here-"

She explained how to mix colors to his skin tone and demonstrated on her own arm, reminding him that the back of your hand is always a little darker than your face. Percy made a few jokes in between steps, but applied the foundation almost flawlessly.

"Whoa, you're a natural, Perce!" Piper exclaimed in shock. "Is this the first time you've ever put it on?"

"Nah," he said nonchalantly. "I used to use my mom's concealer to hide little marks and stuff when I was a kid." He subconsciously brushed the foundation over his wrist to cover a small circular burn scar. 

Piper raised her eyebrows at the gesture. "Were you a rebellious young child who got into fights with all the bullies, like I did? You seem like you were the skinny little nobody who got beat up for sticking up for the other skinny nobodies.” She said it in jest, but Percy’s face darkened.

"My mom’s hardly a nobody,” he said quietly. He became suddenly interested in the eyeshadow palet.

Piper’s eyes widened as she recalled a conversation she’d had with Sally weeks prior. 

_ “Sally, Percy seems to like Paul, right? He mentioned something about not liking his step dad in passing and I didn't know if-?”  _

_ “Oh, no, Percy loves Paul. He wasn't talking about him at all.”  _

_ “Who, then? I don’t mean to be nosy but-” _

_ “You’re fine, Piper. It’s just that I had been married in the past to a man who was... unkind to both of us. It’s a long story, but we’re much happier now.” _

An unkind step dad that required Percy to cover up marks. “Percy, I...”

“Forget I said anything,” Percy said suddenly. He wiped his face with a remover sheet and proceeded to only smear his work.

“Here, let me.” Piper dabbed some remover onto a tissue and got majority the foundation and concealer off. She sat back and stared at him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

“I know,” Percy said guardedly.

“Hey.” She flicked his shoulder. “Talk to your sister.”

He smiled a little. “It was a long time ago, Pipes, and only for a few years. Before I even knew Annabeth. He left when I was twelve.”

Piper bit her lip and imagined an nine year old Percy stealing foundation to brush over cigarette burns. She nearly cried for real then. "I never knew. Are... Are you okay? Do you need to talk about it?"

He clenched his fist angrily. "I hated Smelly Gabe. All he ever did was play poker and boss me and my mom around."

Piper quietly took his hand in hers. "Did he hurt you?" She didn't know whether or not she was using charmspeak; she wasn't trying to get information from him, but he seemed to be more calm than before.

Percy's free hand went to his upper thigh. "Do you remember when we went swimming and me and Jason wore those short shorts and you asked what the little marks on my legs were? Well..." He rubbed his leg as if feeling old pains. "He burned a lot of holes through my basketball shorts."

"Percy..."

"Never enough to make me have to go to the hospital or anything though. He knew my mom would have to take money out of his nacho fund to pay for it," he said bitterly.

"Did Sally know?" Piper squeezed his hand.

"He told me he'd hurt her if I said anything. He told her the same thing." Percy made a fist again. Piper heard the shower turn on in the bathroom.

“Can I track him down and fight him for you?” she asked, only half kidding.

“It’d be kinda hard to fight a garden statue.” At the confused look on her face, he elaborated. “He was petrified by Medusa.”

“Oh. Fitting punishment for the scum of the earth.”

“Yeah.” A small fire burned in Percy’s eyes, scaring Piper for a moment. The bathroom sinks gurgled and the toilet flushed itself.

“Perce?” Piper said seriously. “I love you.” She put as much truth into the words as she could to let him know that she cared.

The fire died as he stared at her, bemused. “What?” The sounds of flowing water ceased.

“I said I love you.” She punched his shoulder. “Bro.”

He snorted. “Aw, man. If you hadn’t added the bro, I could’ve told Jason that I’m now Mr. Steal Yo Girl.”

“lolz,” she deadpanned. “Hey, it’s about dinner time. You want to walk down?”

“Sure.” They stood and started toward the door. Before they could leave the cabin, Percy caught Piper’s arm.

“What?”

“Thanks, you know, for caring,” Percy said sheepishly.

“Of course I care, dumbie.” She hugged him and planted a purely platonic kiss on his cheek. “You’re like my brother.”

“Okay, sis.” Percy ruffled her hair. “Love you too, then.”

“Perf.” She slapped his hand. “And don’t touch my hair.”

**Author's Note:**

> And as always, I suck at endings. Oh well.  
> But I feel like Piper is totally a new Jackson now and Smelly Gabe wasn't ever mentioned too much again in the later series, so Percy needed to get it off his chest to someone ok


End file.
